Enclosure 3
REDUCTION IN FORCE
POLICIES AND GROUND RULES
This document supplements 5 CFR 351 by addressing policy decisions needed in areas in which the Forest Service has discretion in conducting a Reduction-in-Force. These policies, along with language in negotiated agreements and information specific to a given RIF will serve as the agency policy and ground rules for reduction-in-force.
Competitive Area
The competitive area consists of all positions in a Forest Service unit under separate administrative authority in the local commuting area. Forest Service competitive areas are included in Appendix D of the Master Agreement between the Forest Service and Forest Service Council of the National Federation of Federal Employees and will also be posted on the Forest Service Human Resources intranet web site.
Commuting Area
One or more population centers in which employees can reasonably be expected to commute to and from work every day. Normally, the commuting area is within 49 miles of the duty station unless the parties negotiate a different area based on local commuting patterns.
Prohibition on Use of Pre-WRAPS in RIF Situations
Pre-WRAPS should not be used when a RIF is anticipated within the same competitive area. If a unit has begun a pre-WRAPS plan and then identified that a RIF will be needed, the pre-WRAPS plan must be halted as part of the personnel action freeze.
Use of WRAPS
When RIF and WRAPS are implemented simultaneously within a given competitive area:
(1) RIF procedures will be used to identify the affected employees for RIF and the same employees will be the affected employees in WRAPS.
(2) RIF procedures will be used for placement of affected employees within the competitive area. If there are vacancies within the competitive area that will not be filled through RIF, WRAPS procedures will be used as appropriate.
(3) WRAPS procedures will be used for placement of affected employees outside the competitive area, but RIF timelines will take precedence.
If employee(s) had been registered in WRAPS at the time that a unit determines that a RIF is going to be needed in the competitive area, the unit must first consider whether the abolishment of the position which necessitated the WRAPS listing should be included in the list of abolished positions under RIF. Further, even if the unit would not otherwise include the position abolishment under RIF, the unit must identify the RIF impacts to see if the individual(s) identified under WRAPS will be affected by the bump and retreat process of RIF. If so, the RIF procedures will also be used to identify the affected employee(s) for the WRAPS listed employee(s).
Buyout[1] and/or Early Out[2] Exclusion
Any employee who has been granted a buyout /early out, but is being retained for a designated period, will not be included in a RIF of their competitive area. The position occupied will be considered an abolished or vacant position.
Holiday Exclusion
Neither issuance of specific RIF notices nor RIF effective dates shall occur in the period of December 15th through January 5th of any year.
Performance Appraisals
The three most recently completed annual performance ratings of record during 4-year “Look-back” period are used for crediting performance during RIF.
Look-back Period:
A 4-year period looking backwards from an established cut-off date. It is used to establish what performance appraisals will be considered in a reduction-in-force.
Cut-off Period:
To be credited for use during a RIF, the Servicing Human Resources Office (SHRO) must have received the appraisal document at least 30 days prior to issuance of specific RIF notice. A specific cut-off date must be established for each RIF and publicized to employees. No appraisals received after that cut-off date will be used to determine retention standing.
Modal Rating:
The Forest Service modal rating pattern for performance appraisals is “Successful” and is credited with 12 years of additional service credit. Any employee who has received no ratings or less than three in the “Look-back” period will be credited per the instructions in 5 CFR 351.504 (c) (2).
When employees have performance ratings from other agencies during the “Look-back” period, they will have all successful ratings or above credited with 12 years additional service per 5 CFR 351.504 (e).
Personnel Action Freeze
Any competitive area in which a reduction-in-force is anticipated will be frozen at least 60 days prior to issuance of a specific RIF notice and will remain frozen until the effective date of the reduction-in-force. This freeze also includes all vacant positions at or below the grade of the highest competing employee in the RIF.
During the freeze, the SHRO will only process emergency temporary personnel actions related to fires, floods, national emergencies, and other actions as defined by the Washington Office. The organizational freeze includes all accessions, movements, tour changes, and classification actions[3]. The RIF retention register must be projected forward to the effective date of the RIF for actions such as changes in tenure, career ladder promotions, separations, and other actions that would affect an employee’s RIF retention standing. Employees on details and temporary promotions will be included in the RIF based on their positions of record (their current permanent position).
During the RIF period, career ladder promotions[4], Court-ordered actions and actions ordered by a third-party agency (such as an Equal Employment Opportunity Judge’s order Office of Personnel Management classification appeal decision, etc.) will not be subject to the freeze.
Exceptions to this freeze may be requested of the line officer who initially authorized the RIF, but are expected to be rare. Although recruitment actions are frozen, they still need to be submitted so that those vacancies can be used appropriately in the reduction-in-force.
No Assignment Rights for Temporary Employees, Reemployed Annuitants, and Term Employees
In Round 1 of RIF, all temporary employees will be released from the competitive level before any permanent employee is released from that competitive level. Reemployed annuitants serve at the will of the local line officer and thus are treated like temporary employees. In Round 2 of RIF, tenure group III employees (term employees) will have no assignment rights.
Exceptions to Order of Release
All exceptions, and the reasons for exceptions, must be documented on the retention register. The mandatory exceptions for release of returning military employees and for retirement or continuation of health benefits are defined in (5 CFR 351.606). All other temporary or continuing exceptions provided for in RIF regulations must be approved by the line officer who approved the RIF and should be rare. Exceptions must be maintained as part of the permanent RIF files and notices given consistent with 5 CFR 351.608(g).
Exceptions to the “undue interruption” criteria used in RIF placement decisions may be granted only when filling vacant positions. Such vacancies should be identified to every extent possible prior to issuing RIF notices.
Tiebreaker
When two or more employees have identical retention standing and a tiebreaker is needed, a predetermined random number generator will be used and compared with the last digit of each individual’s Social Security number. The employee whose last digit is closest match to the random number will be considered to have the higher retention standing. If the last digits are equally close, the next to last digit of each employee’s Social Security number will be used, and so on until the tie is broken.
Qualifications Deadline
Any additional information an employee wishes to submit regarding his or her qualifications must be received by their servicing human resources office (SHRO) by the cutoff date established by the SHRO for the RIF. Employees will be notified of the cutoff dates established for the RIF and have at least 14 days before the deadline for receipt of qualifications updates. Any bargaining unit officials for the competitive unit(s) involved will receive a copy of the notice at least 1 full day prior to the notice to employees. Additional informational material will generally be accepted up to 30 calendar days in advance of the specific RIF notice; however, changes in tenure group status may be accepted up to the effective date of the RIF.
Employees are encouraged to create a profile in Avue and use the generated resume as an attachment to their WRAPS registration, to facilitate qualifications review. Other forms of qualification/application material such as an OF-612, SF-171, or other form of resume will also be accepted.
Subject Matter Expertise
Subject matter experts may be asked to provide advice in making qualification determinations. All determinations will be based solely upon evidence found in official personnel records. Official personnel records include those in a RIF file that is established for each affected employee which may contain records (e.g. resumes) that do not belong in the Official Personnel Folder.
Use of Vacancies
1. Permanent vacancies (including those that might be filled at less than full performance level or have previously been filled as virtual positions) will be identified prior to initiating a RIF. If a vacancy will not be available for offers (for example, line officer positions) the reasons for excepting the position will be maintained in the unit’s RIF file. A list of positions available for offers will be provided to the local union official (if any) at the beginning of the RIF.
2. Permanent vacancies within impacted competitive levels will be used in Round 1. Vacancies that remain unfilled after Round 1 will be offered in Round 2.
3. Vacancies, regardless of work schedule or grade, that remain unfilled after completion of Round 2 of RIF, may be offered to affected employees in lieu of Separation-RIF. When more than one employee is available for placement, positions will be offered in retention order.
4. Employees separated in RIF may be re-employed in temporary vacancies only after a 3-day break-in-service. A temporary need related to the positions that are being abolished will be handled as an exception to the order of release and not as a temporary position. (See Exceptions to Order of Release section.)
5. When a supervisor/manager in an area undergoing RIF has a vacancy in a position outside the competitive area, the manager has the discretion to identify the position as a virtual position or as a position within the commuting area (in which case it may constitute a valid job offer) or identify it in some other location.
6. Exceptions to the “undue interruption” criteria used in RIF placement decisions may be granted only when filling vacant positions. Such vacancies should be identified to every extent possible prior to issuing RIF notices.
Note: In order to identify all appropriate vacancies, line managers are accountable for assuring that all vacancies to be filled are presented on an SF-52 to Human Resources during the RIF period. Vacancies not filled in RIF will be subject to placement from the Reemployment Priority List and other priority placement mechanisms after the RIF.
Content of RIF Notices
The parties at the national level will agree on the language of general and specific RIF notices prior to their being issued. Local parties may supplement the general letters with required local information (such as contact information).
Delivering the Specific RIF Notices
The lowest level line officer of the affected unit or another appropriate management official will deliver the specific RIF notices to their affected employees. Supervisors should make every effort to assure employees are present on the delivery date of the notices, including canceling leave as appropriate.
In the event an employee is not present at his or her duty location on the day the specific RIF notices are issued, the notice will be sent via certified mail with a copy sent via regular first class mail to the employee’s legal address of record. A 5-day delivery timeframe will be presumed, even if the employee refuses to accept the letter or claim/pick up from the Post Office.
RIF Offers
Employees will have a three workday response time to accept or decline RIF offers. The 3-day clock starts at a) 5 p.m. on the day of personal delivery of notice by management official, or b) if the notice is mailed, the employee’s 3-day response period will begin on the 5th day following the date on the letter.
Exemptions from Reductions-in-Force
Management shall have discretion to determine whether an Excepted Service RIF will also be run in the competitive area undergoing a RIF. Presidential Management Fellows and Fire Apprentices, regardless of the appointment authority they are hired under, shall be exempt from reduction-in-force. Positions that are formally designated developmental (e.g., grades 5-7entry level) shall also be exempt if they meet the OPM criteria. Two-grade interval positions are generally developmental at the GS-5-7 level but must be reviewed to ensure that formal designation is appropriate. Only those employees that are on a formally designated detailed training career plan will be exempt. Employees in developmental positions that do not have detailed career plans will be included in the RIF. This does not include all general career ladder positions, such as those advertised at GS-11-12. Units will not delay promotion to the target level for the sole purpose of avoiding RIF. Units undergoing RIF will keep a list of all such positions and will make it available to local union officials (if any) upon request.
We note that SCEPS that are converted to competitive service will be included in the reduction in force. Once SCEPS have been converted they are not considered “formal trainees” under OPM regulations.
Policy of Least Disruption
“The policy of “least disruption” will be used in RIF. This means:
1. In Round One there will be no intervening displacements. When the position abolished is occupied by someone other than the individual at the bottom of the competitive level, the employee in the abolished position will be reassigned to the continuing position occupied by the person with the lowest retention standing, with the exception of the Holland, Hatrick, and Richardson v. Army MSPB decision. This case directs agencies that, notwithstanding a policy of least disruption, tenure group I employees will not be placed in term or other non-permanent positions held by tenure group III employees, if the same competitive level includes tenure group II employees.
2. In Round Two, when both a vacancy and occupied position at the same grade level are valid offers, the vacancy will be offered. If more than one vacancy is a valid offer, any of the available vacancies may be offered.